North White School Corp. helping grieving students

WHITE COUNTY, Ind. (WLFI) – Family and friends of Dakota Coffin and Kandi Haygood are grieving after the couple was killed in a White County car crash.

Coffin was still a senior at North White Junior Senior High School.

Monday was the first day back to school for North White School Corporation since losing one of their own. Coffin was 18 and Haygood was 21 at the time of their deaths.

North White School Corporation Superintendent Nick Eccles said staff met Monday morning to figure out what they wanted to do to help grieving students. They decided to invite counselors and pastors, like Monon First Baptist Pastor Steve Birch, to speak with students who needed to talk.

“For many of the young people this is their first interaction with loss of this nature,” Birch said. “We can honor them by our actions as we continue forward carrying their memory with us by how we live.”

Birch did not know Coffin or Haygood personally, but he said students gave him a good picture of who Coffin was.

“My understanding of Dakota is he was a young man that had values and standards,” Birch said. “He held his classmates accountable.”

Coffin’s death may affect the North White School Corporation differently than a student’s death may affect another district. This district is small. There are only 73 students in Dakota’s class.

“With the passing of Dakota we don’t want to move on,” Eccels said. “We want Dakota to be remembered.”

People are taking to social media to remember both Coffin and Haygood. There has been a Facebook page set up to remember them both.

Eccles said all events at North White are postponed until after Coffin’s funeral on Saturday.